Flames in Seireitei
by Kajida the Boar
Summary: A enigmatic criminal from Rukongai. A courageous Vice-Captain of the Gotei 13. And a noble family, determined to rise. This is a story about some OC of mine, set in the world of Bleach.


**This a story about OCs set in the world of Bleach. I currently do not plan to involve any characters from the Manga/Anime.**

**This is my first story that I publish on this site, so I would really appreciate some reviews. **

**I don't own Bleach. However, I own the characters of this fanfiction.**

**Prologue: A flickering flame**

It was a cold night. Small ice flowers had started to bloom on the windows of the mansion and the little river in the garden had been covered by a thin layer of ice. Nothing seemed to move, as if the cold had whisked away all life and left a silent mockery of what once had been a sacred ground to the here living noble family. There was no light but from a few stray stars, whose light somehow found their way through the thick, black clouds in the night sky.

In the courtyard of the noble Hyukutake family stood a young man this night. He wore a plain white kimono, which, together with his light complexion, made him look like a some sort of ghostly being and because of his wooden geta-shoes he actually seemed to float. His dark hair flowed down his shoulders like a river and glistened in the moonlight. His Glasses reflected the moons shine and made it impossible to see his brown eyes.

Shinichi didn't know how many hours had passed since he decided to take a midnight stroll. Usually he would just wander around aimlessly in the courtyard, occasionally looking up to the moon as if the round, white orb in the sky was his guardian. The noble didn't know why he thought like that, but it was the only solace he got these days. The moon never judged him, never expected anything of him and was always there, when the young man needed his cold but comforting light. Shinichi was never at peace when doing this but it greatly eased himself and released him of the stress he accumulated during the day.

But today was different. Shinichi knew that the clouds where, if he thought logical about it, blocking the moons light but he had something other people might have called a hunch, that the silent guardian up there withdrew himself on purpose tonight. As if he didn't want to see anything happen he might have known from the start was going to happen this night.

As usual in his nightly routine, Shinichi, after finishing his procedure in the courtyard, would head through the garden straight for the gate of his family grounds. He never payed any attention the beauty of the garden - his ability to appreciate such things had been gone a long time ago, back when he was still a child - Shinichi just focused on the destination of his usual ritual. Tora was already waiting.

The old guard was quite a sight - if it weren't for his undeniable skill and his accomplishments back when he was still a shinigami- his mere presence near the grounds of nobles would have been seen as an insult to Shinichis family. But thanks to a bit of good will from fate itself the two of them were able to converse as something akin to civil. Shinichi wasn't sure if he could call the old man his friend but even if not it was definitely a close call. The young noble considered Tora a peer - if his mother knew she would have Tora fired and probably accused of some false charges to have him put into jail. Nobles could do that, bend the laws to their will if they just plucked the strings right. And his mother was the evil queen of this art. But luckily she did'nt know about this as she didn't know about his other arrangement with the head of the families guard.

"Good even, Tora-san" Shinichi bowed slightly to his friend. As usual the old man would laugh. It sounded raspy.

"It's been a while Shinichi-boy! What kept ya busy? Ya don't miss our little nightly ritual for so many days"

"I've been...occupied. My sincerest apologies."

"Ah, scratch that last part. Ya got the booze?"

"Of course, Tora-san." With a mere flick of his wrist Shinichi procured an expensive looking bottle from the long sleeves of his kimono. "The best sake I could get, as usual" The old man laughed again. The noble handed him the sake. He himself didn't drink alcohol, he disliked the way the weird tasting brew dulled his thinking and his senses. Tora however seemed to run on sake. Whenever the guard got the chance he downed a glass of that stuff. "Keeps the system running" he always said and somehow Shinichi believed him.

"Ya know, boy, I don't really get how ya manage to keep the disappearing booze a secret from ya mother, the ol' witch." "I don't. I simple blame my brother." A flicker of surprise manifested itself on Tora's wrinkly face. "And she buys that?" Shinichi allowed himself a faint smile. "It seems like it. She stopped questioning me about it a few weeks ago." The older man grinned, which exposed his crooked teeth. The sight disgusted most people, noble or not, but Shinichi didn't even flinch. He grew accustomed to the disfigured smile of Tora quite some time ago and actually found something pleasant in it. It definitely wasn't the most beautiful smile he had ever seen but it was the most honest, a trait the young noble envied. Honesty was all but common in the noble houses, at least in his own where the family even lied to itself. "However, tonight I didn't come here for our usual pleasant conversation. I-" "Ya want to run away and want me to hep ya, right?" Shinichi considered himself a quite good liar. He had trained under the masters of the art and was now able to twist the truth with his words to fool these masters with relative ease. But Tora saw right through him. At times Shinichi found it disheartening to be read like this, but at least it saved him some time.

"Will you help me, Tora-san?"

"If I don't, ya'll try to knock me out with ya zanpakutou, that you hide in ya clothes, so what choice do I have?"

"I assure you that was not my intention." Once again Tora showed his experience as a retired Shinigami. Shinichi was pretty sure, that his weapon wasn't visible for anyone. "I don't need much of you. I have the everything already planned." The guard shrugged. "Sure. What teacher wouldn't help his pupil out once in a while?" Shinichi raised his eyebrow in surprise. He never knew, that Tora considered him a pupil and had never thought of their relationship like this. Although he had to admit you could look at it that way. "Wonderful. I am in your debt, Tora-san." "Whatever. What do ya want me to do?" "You see ..."

**End of the** **Prologue **

**PS: Please excuse my english. I know it is anything but perfect.**


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